ISLAMABAD – Aspiring students from Baluchistan and Tribal region have been allowed taking admission in semester autumn 2019 of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) by September 20 for availing free Matric education.
The University had declared that it will be providing free Matric-level education to the people from Baluchistan and the tribal region (Old FATA).
It was aimed at ensuring access to education to the marginalized and less-developed areas of the country, without having financial gain.
The deserving students could approach the Universitysáregional offices for guidance and help in the admissions process.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Zia-Ul-Qayyum hoped that the people from these areas will take benefit of this facility. The University is committed to extending them quality education at their door-step, he added.
The University is already providing free education to neglected sections of the society that includes disabled persons, prisoners, drop-out girls and transgender group.
It has also waived off tuition fee for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of the tribal areas, who suffered in wake of a counter-terrorism operation.
AIOU provided fee concession to record a number of pupils in the recent year to promote its policy of ensuringáeducationáto ALL.
The number of beneficiaries having fee concession under the University’s scholarship schemes was 20,466 in the financial year of 2018-19, that is the record in the history of AIOU.
In the corresponding period, the number of beneficiaries was 19, 226.
The Vice-Chancellor has recently announced while addressing an academic meeting that financial constraint will be no longer a hurdle in receiving education from the AIOU that cater the educational needs of over 1.4 million students annually through the distance learning system.
There is a number of scholarship schemes of the University, under which the deserving students take benefit to continue their future study.
As per the policy, if annual income of a student or his parent is less than Rs 3, 60,000, he can apply for fee concession in a particular program under the scholarship schemes, through his respectiveáregional office.
Each desiring student is required to meet certain criteria. The case of fee-concession is finally considered and approved by an Assessment Committee, set up for this purpose at the regional level.
